A Perk and a Pain
I don't often get to vent about this particular client of mine. One, because in my line of work, confidentiality is a huge deal. Two, because people never believe me. So, I steam about it at work, I steam about it at home to S, who thinks I have nothing to whine about at all because I get to deal with this guy. I can't even say his name on here - well, maybe I can, but then it would be too out there, but he's a well-known celebrity who not too long ago flaked out on his contract & fled the country. And, for some undeterminable reason, he has been working with me for about 3 or 4 years now. I don't know how I got so lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you want to look at it - my view changes with his whim) that this famous guy wants to deal with me, but, it's definitely a perk. Even my boss can't figure out this guy's long time loyalty.
My own best friend didn't believe me. We went to lunch one day in the little town where I work, I told her if he was out, which he often is, I would introduce her. Sure enough, he was sitting on the street, just like a normal person, which it just so happens he is, and we walked by. I glanced over at him & said, "Hey (Dude)," and he popped up to shake my hand & comment on my handwriting, which seems to thrill him for some strange reason. My friend about had a coronary. I introduced them, he shook her hand, she could only make strange glubbing noises at him, and then he bounded off down the street to fetch his lunch. We turned around & walked back down the street - we had gone an entire block without the friend saying anything, mouth still agape. When we reached the corner, she turned to me and said, "I thought you were lying!" Gee, thanks, long-time friend & ally. I am a big fat liar, so of course I must be lying! Geez.
My mom goes off & tells her friends that I'm his agent even tho' I'm not sure she's even seen anything he's been in. She also got to meet him during a street festival when he was hanging out with his wife (also a good client & if it weren't for the professional relationship & her having two rowdy boys, we might even be good friends). I stopped to greet the wife, who I had talked to plenty of times but never met face to face, and Dude broke free of his admiring group of fans to shake my hand & say HEY R! Suddenly, I hate to say, my place in the world seemed not so minor as the fans watched his enthusiastic greeting.
The funniest thing is, is that my husband, who is a huge fan of Dude, hasn't ever met him. He's not bitter or anything.
Dude always has vague things he wants to do. Cart off to a foreign land - "What about here? Here? here.... What's there to do here?" - which would be okay if he didn't switch continents faster than I can type, take private jets here & there. Vague is somewhat acceptable, but when the guy wants to fly to a far off land on THAT DAY, it tends to freak me out a little.
The kicker is, is that he's not a jerk at all. Very humble, very friendly, very grateful. He doesn't complain & whine & fret. All of these things have earned my affection for him. I don't care who he is, if he were an ass, I would've tried to wash my hands of him a long time ago.
A little while ago, he came in, again on one of his vague missions, ogled my map for a while & chit-chatted about here & there. A pasty young man burst thru the door, breathless from the stairs, & exclaimed, "Hey Dude! I was over at the tavern & I had to come up & say hi!" I was confused for a moment - I didn't know if this guy knew Dude or not, and Dude of course was nodding in a friendly way & making the appropriate friendly vague comments. Turned out, this guy had just seen Dude come in & not leave, so he decided to come up & meet him because he'd been "living here his whole life & had never seen Dude". We both said, really? Because Dude really is down on the street quite often - in fact, people come to town just to try for a Dude-sighting. After pasty boy apologized to Dude & to us for coming in & being a fan, he left. Dude stared at the map for a moment, cocked his glance to the door then slid it slyly back to me & smirked. I know how he feels about this celebrity thing.
We have a sort of friendship. He follows me around the office like a big jolly dog, makes jokes, tells me about his travels & also about being the victim of fans who think that screaming one of his trademark lines at him & his family while they're walking down the street is a good time, and even of the mean fans who think it's Dude's duty to tolerate camera phones & such jammed in his face - "you asked for it! It's part of the job!" they say. If he sees me on the street, I'm always greeted by a big hug & friendly chatter. So, it is an honor to deal with him - never in a million years did I think dealing with a big name celebrity would be part of my everyday job, especially one as friendly & humble as Dude.
But still, he's a perk AND a pain.
My own best friend didn't believe me. We went to lunch one day in the little town where I work, I told her if he was out, which he often is, I would introduce her. Sure enough, he was sitting on the street, just like a normal person, which it just so happens he is, and we walked by. I glanced over at him & said, "Hey (Dude)," and he popped up to shake my hand & comment on my handwriting, which seems to thrill him for some strange reason. My friend about had a coronary. I introduced them, he shook her hand, she could only make strange glubbing noises at him, and then he bounded off down the street to fetch his lunch. We turned around & walked back down the street - we had gone an entire block without the friend saying anything, mouth still agape. When we reached the corner, she turned to me and said, "I thought you were lying!" Gee, thanks, long-time friend & ally. I am a big fat liar, so of course I must be lying! Geez.
My mom goes off & tells her friends that I'm his agent even tho' I'm not sure she's even seen anything he's been in. She also got to meet him during a street festival when he was hanging out with his wife (also a good client & if it weren't for the professional relationship & her having two rowdy boys, we might even be good friends). I stopped to greet the wife, who I had talked to plenty of times but never met face to face, and Dude broke free of his admiring group of fans to shake my hand & say HEY R! Suddenly, I hate to say, my place in the world seemed not so minor as the fans watched his enthusiastic greeting.
The funniest thing is, is that my husband, who is a huge fan of Dude, hasn't ever met him. He's not bitter or anything.
Dude always has vague things he wants to do. Cart off to a foreign land - "What about here? Here? here.... What's there to do here?" - which would be okay if he didn't switch continents faster than I can type, take private jets here & there. Vague is somewhat acceptable, but when the guy wants to fly to a far off land on THAT DAY, it tends to freak me out a little.
The kicker is, is that he's not a jerk at all. Very humble, very friendly, very grateful. He doesn't complain & whine & fret. All of these things have earned my affection for him. I don't care who he is, if he were an ass, I would've tried to wash my hands of him a long time ago.
A little while ago, he came in, again on one of his vague missions, ogled my map for a while & chit-chatted about here & there. A pasty young man burst thru the door, breathless from the stairs, & exclaimed, "Hey Dude! I was over at the tavern & I had to come up & say hi!" I was confused for a moment - I didn't know if this guy knew Dude or not, and Dude of course was nodding in a friendly way & making the appropriate friendly vague comments. Turned out, this guy had just seen Dude come in & not leave, so he decided to come up & meet him because he'd been "living here his whole life & had never seen Dude". We both said, really? Because Dude really is down on the street quite often - in fact, people come to town just to try for a Dude-sighting. After pasty boy apologized to Dude & to us for coming in & being a fan, he left. Dude stared at the map for a moment, cocked his glance to the door then slid it slyly back to me & smirked. I know how he feels about this celebrity thing.
We have a sort of friendship. He follows me around the office like a big jolly dog, makes jokes, tells me about his travels & also about being the victim of fans who think that screaming one of his trademark lines at him & his family while they're walking down the street is a good time, and even of the mean fans who think it's Dude's duty to tolerate camera phones & such jammed in his face - "you asked for it! It's part of the job!" they say. If he sees me on the street, I'm always greeted by a big hug & friendly chatter. So, it is an honor to deal with him - never in a million years did I think dealing with a big name celebrity would be part of my everyday job, especially one as friendly & humble as Dude.
But still, he's a perk AND a pain.
posted by RCSure | 1:54 PM
3 Comments:
We should have "Dude" wisk us away somewhere tropical. Offer to go with him and take your friend from Tennessee. I can tell him about my crazy psycho family and give "Dude" tons of material.
Heh! Dude would probably drive me crazy over a length of time due to his vagueness & habit of being easily distracted by shiny objects. He did recently whisk a local guy, an old classmate of Dude's I think, off on a spur of the moment thing just so he'd have a guide.
The three of us, and his wife if she could find someplace to board the kids, would probably have a pretty fun time tho'.
Go away BlogSurfer. Bloody spamming turdsnapper.
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